Abstract :
[en] INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE:
Despite the importance of goalkeepers in the game of football, literature focusing on this specific position is scarce [1]. Only a few studies have covered the situations and movements that are unique to goalkeepers [2]. The cross technique is used for situations of a duel of proximity between the goalkeeper and an opponent in front of the goal. Although this technique is not described in the literature, it appears to be used by an increasing number of goalkeepers, particularly at an elite level. An online questionnaire for goalkeeper coaches was developed to explore their experiences on the knowledge and use of the technique, and the perceived health and injury risks of performing it.
METHODS:
The questionnaire was developed by a team of goalkeeper coaches, medical doctors, physiotherapists, physical trainers and researchers with expertise in the goalkeeper position. It consists of 27 questions that can be answered online using any internet browser (using sondageonline.com) and takes approximately 10 min to complete. It was developed in French and later translated into English and Spanish. It was launched in January ‘23 and is expected to be closed at the end of February ’23. Snowball sampling was used in order to reach as many answers as possible, sharing the link via email and social media with the collaboration of federations and clubs. The preliminary results presented in this abstract correspond to the collected answers to date, of the French version only (n = 320). See Table 1 for additional information. Chi-square Test of Independence was performed to assess the influence of the trained player’s playing level (Elite, Sub-elite or Recreational) and whether the coaches had followed goalkeeper-specific training (GK-specific Training) or not. Significance level was set at p <.05 and Bonferroni correction was used when needed.
RESULTS:
Almost all the respondents, 98%, recognized the technique, with no significant differences between playing level (p = .296) nor coaches’ training (p = .697). Seventy-seven per cent of the coaches teach the technique to their players, again, with no significant differences for training level (p = .185); nor coaches’ training (p = .600). A mean player’s age of 11.4 years ± 2.8 was recommended to start training the technique. Forty-five per cent of the coaches think it should be taught from a Recreational playing level, while 30% chose Sub-elite, 13% chose Elite level and 12% think it should not be taught.
Thirty-three per cent of the coaches reported that at least one of their players was injured performing this technique, being Contusion, 37%, and Musculo-skeletal, 36%, the most common injuries. A significant difference was found for coaches training players at the Elite level, who were more likely to have an injured player while performing the technique (p = .004). No significant difference was found whether the coaches had followed a goalkeeper-specific training or not (p = .301).
Almost all of the coaches, 90%, consider that the technique might have some injury risks for the players who perform it, due to contact with another player, 68%; contact with the ball, 51%; or injury without contact with another player, 46%. Comparatively, 69% see no risk difference between men’s or women’s teams, while 15% and 16%, consider it higher for men’s and women’s teams, respectively. No significant differences for playing level (p = .161) nor coaches training (p = .425). Similarly, 42% consider that there is no risk difference between young or adult players, 36% consider it riskier for young players, and 23% do so for adult players. No significant differences for playing level (p = .811) nor coaches training (p = .703).
CONCLUSIONS:
Despite a popular knowledge and use of the cross by goalkeeper coaches, there are differences in the players’ age and playing level to start teaching this technique. Also, coaches believe that the execution of the technique appears is associated with both contact and non-contact injuries, independently of the players’ age or the team they play for. This is the first study covering the cross technique and the results could be used in future research aiming to improve performance and reduce risk of injury for the goalkeeper position.
REFERENCES
[1] M. Perez-Arroniz, J. Calleja-González, J. Zabala-Lili, and A. Zubillaga, “The soccer goalkeeper profile: bibliographic review,” Phys. Sportsmed., 2022, doi: 10.1080/00913847.2022.2040889.
[2] R. Ibrahim, I. Kingma, V. A. de Boode, G. S. Faber, and J. H. van Dieën, “Kinematic and kinetic analysis of the goalkeeper’s diving save in football,” J. Sports Sci., vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 313–321, 2019, doi: 10.1080/02640414.2018.1499413.
